uk – Page 4 – that lemon life

So it begins

Hola everyone.

Just a quick update from my side. Sooo, today was actually the first day of uni or actually, it was the day of the enrollment. That means, from now on I am officially a BIMM Student (yes, that excited shriek you just heard in the background was me).

No, but seriously, I am really hugely excited. I kind of felt a bit down after the enrollment as especially the timetable wasn’t as packed with classes as I thought it would be, but then I kind of realized that this course specializes in self-directed work, so more than a half of all the hours I’ll spend with uni stuff will be done outside of class, which is crazy, actually. But also a good sign.

Besides that today was basically used as some sort of introduction to uni and the course and everyone and everything else. And it was quite impressive, if I may say so. I mean, you all know me now – I hope so at least. Now imagine me walking into this room with a huge stage setup in the back and white walls with hundreds of different signatures from different artists and bands on it. And if that wasn’t cool enough, now imagine me looking around and the suddenly finding Conor’s signature right next to me. How unbelievably cool is that? I’m seriously attending a school that casually has Conor freaking Mason’s signature on its walls like it’s nothing. So damn cool, oh my god.

Oh and let’s not forget all the different work opportunities and masterclasses and talks BIMM can offer. Did I tell you that past journalism students actually got to interview Twenty One Pilots? Fantastic, isn’t it? I actually can’t believe that I’m going to spend the upcoming three years just thinking about and listening to music and then writing about it. What a dream. I kind of had a full on reality check when I got home and suddenly realized that this was all seriously happening. I am really in Brighton. I am really a student at BIMM. It’s all real. Holy moly.

So yeah, that’s what happened today. The enrollment and also the start of freshers week, which means that I’m gonna spend the rest of the week going to different student fairs, talks and gigs (of course). And then, next Tuesday, the true work will finally start. I can’t even begin to tell you how freaking excited I am. And how happy that I get to share it all with you. As always, please don’t hesitate to leave any comments or questions down below. If you want to know anything, just hit me. And until then I hope you enjoyed this little update. And yeah, I wish you all a great week and, as always, thanks for reading. x

A new chapter

Hola everyone.

It’s me, Laura. And no, I’ve not fallen into a big black hole I couldn’t get out of. Yes, I do still exist. What a miracle. Ha. Ha. Okay, but seriously, I’m back, for real. I’m sorry it took me so long, but if you’ve been following me for the past months or even just weeks, you’ll know that I’ve had this big move to Brighton and I just had to fully concentrate on that. But yeah, this is over now. I mean, it’s still happening, at least in my head, which I still can’t get around the idea that I’m now living in the UK, where people live, think and speak differently. It’s so so crazy and I’m really glad that I get to share this journey with you guys.

As you can probably guess, my life here in Brighton and my new uni will be a big topic throughout, well, the next months and maybe even years. But for now I’d just like to share everything that happened in the past seven days with you guys. I know that nowadays it’s a bit more common to move to a different country or city to study or work there and everyone always tells you that it’s a great thing that will shape you, blah blah blah. But what noone really tells you is how hard it is to leave everyone and everything you know and love behind. I don’t regret any part of this move and I don’t want any of you to think that. It’s just that this really great thing also comes with a lot of heartbreaks and anyone who’s in the same situation as me should never feel like you always have to be happy from the first second on because you’re doing this really cool thing and basically fulfilling your dreams. Because it’s okay to not feel okay. Okay?

So, you can probably guess by now that the move wasn’t easy for me. The last week at home was a total dream for me and probably one of the best weeks ever. I saw all of my friends and I got to spend a lot of time with my family. And yeah, it was just really nice. And I was truly doing fine, even on the day of the move. But then I went into the garden to say goodbye to my cat and said “Peaches, I need to say goodbye” and it was the first time I had to explicitly say it and yeah, it was kind of my trigger word. From that moment on the tears just kept spilling. And you know what, I even let them, because I knew that this was the most normal reaction on earth. And I also knew that saying goodbye to my pets would be the hardest step. I mean, I kind of had an internal panic attack during the flight, but oh well. And you know what, the human mind is something truly crazy sometimes, let me tell you. Because suddenly I had all of these worries popping up in my head. “What if I don’t understand them?” “What if I can’t properly talk to people?” “What if I don’t like my new home?” “What if…?” It was driving me mad.

Rationally, most of my worries were pretty much total nonsense. Of course I still worry sometimes, mostly about uni right now and my new classmates. But you know, I always try to calm myself down by thinking that I can’t be perfect. I didn’t grow up in the UK and wasn’t raised bilingual, so of course I’m going to make some mistakes. But I’ve been progressing every single day and it’s actually really cool to notice how my brain slowly adjusts to the new surroundings and language. And I’m also already in contact with one of my new peers and yeah. Everything’s gonna be just fine, I’m hundred percent sure of that.

Besides that, I truly love my new home and Brighton and my new “family” and just pretty much everything. The house is freaking amazing, my room aswell, Nick and Silvia are literally the nicest people ever and the location couldn’t be any better. If I truly concentrate on it, I can even hear the waves crashing into the shore when I open the window. It couldn’t be any better, seriously. But for any of you who are planning on moving to a totally different place, I can just recommend having your parents with you for the first few days. I think that’s what really helped me to both adjust to my new home and not get a heart attack at the same time. I mean, watching my mum get onto the train and leave without me was probably one of the hardest things I have ever had to do, but moving to Brighton all on my own would have been a completely different and also harder story. I just really needed them and I’m happy that I had them with me. Also, I’ll be seeing them again in just 32 days and I already can’t wait.

You know, when I first got to Brighton I was asking myself whether I had made the right decision or not. Maybe it would have been better to just stay at home, do my Masters degree and then get a job at some magazine or whatever. Maybe that would have been easier. But then something very, very, very exciting happened. Some of you may know that Felix Kjellberg, aka PewDiePie, aka one of my favorite YouTubers, also lives in Brighton together with his fiancée Marzia Bisognin. And when my parents and I were walking to their hotel just after getting to Brighton, I actually told them all about Pewds and Marzia and was like “oh my god, imagine me walking around and then seeing Marzia with their two pugs. One is white and one is black. That would be so crazy.” I was probably annoying them, let’s be honest. And then we were passing this street and I looked to my left side and suddenly there was this guy, wearing a black jumper and black joggers. And I thought “hmm, why do I feel like I know him?” And then I looked down and saw them – Edgar and Maya, the two pugs. So, there he was. Felix. The one and only Pewds. I thought I was dreaming. I, of course, went completely crazy and whispered/shrieked at my parents “IT’S PEWDIEPIE. IT’S PEWDIEPIE.” And my mum was like “WHERE????” (she knows him – of course she does). And my dad was just staring at us like we were some crazy people. And then I looked back at him and he was looking at me and oh my god, I probably looked like a total freak. My mum then basically ordered me to turn around and walk past him, which we did. And as soon as he was out of sight, I basically went nuts. I couldn’t believe it. I had just moved to this city like five short minutes ago and as soon as I stepped outside Pewds walked by. How crazy is that? I still can’t get my head around it. And yes guys, he has got some looks to serve, I’m just going to be completely honest now. And it might be a bit crazy, but I took this as the sign that I had made the right decision. Because when mum and I visited Brighton two years ago, I was basically scanning every single face I went past and nothing happened. But this time I saw him, completely out of the blue. That just had to be the sign.

Since then I’ve used every singe day to get to know my new home better, street by street, house by house. Let me just tell you one thing – Brighton is damn beautiful and living next to the sea is one of the coolest things ever. Honestly, I feel like the luckiest person ever. Thanks to Silvia and Nick I don’t feel so alone here and they kind of prevent me from getting too sad about the fact that my family isn’t here. Which I’m very thankful for, seriously. I’ve already started to decorate my room and usually spend my days walking around in the city, doing a bit of shopping and stuff. And I’m also really looking forward to fresher’s week that’s coming up. In short, apart from missing my home, life couldn’t be any better right now. I’m basically living my dream and yeah, I’m just really happy and thankful.

And now I’m going to stop talking. Firstly, because this post if getting far too long and secondly, because it’s already past midnight and a new episode of Bake Off is waiting for me to be watched in bed. So I’m gonna go now. If any of you have got any questions about my move or Brighton or anything else, please don’t hesitate to leave them down below. I’ll try to answer them as fast as I can, I promise. Also, down below you can find some pictures of Brighton that I took the past few days and I really hope that you enjoy them. And yeah, I wish you all an amazing weekend. It feels really good to be back. Thanks for reading, guys. x

London haul

Hola everyone.

I know, I don’t have anything to explain, you already read the title. Welcome to another haul (yeeeeey). Actually, I’m pretty excited – probably even more than you guys – because I can talk some more about some of my favorite topics. Shopping, books and fashion. And London. I mean, it was pretty obvious that I would be going shopping in London. I tried to stop myself from walking into every single store before this trip, to stop myself from buying stuff, as I needed my money for this holiday and my planned shopping there. That’s what I call dedication.

Clothing

Okay, so clothing-wise I didn’t really plan on buying something, I just knew the shops I wanted to visit ASAP. And one of those was Lazy Oaf. Some of you might know this super crazy clothing label, but if you don’t know, you need to check it out now. Like, seriously, right now. Here’s the link to their website: lazyoaf.com

I personally have a special relationship with this label. I got to know it through two of my favorite YouTubers – Marzia and Arden. They both love the label and wear it pretty often in their videos and pictures and one day I was looking at them and thinking “oh my god, I need to know what they are wearing”. And since then I’ve been checking out the Lazy Oaf website every once in a while, mostly once a week, looking for their newest pieces. I just love their clothing with all of my heart. It’s fun and colorful and literally so out of my comfort zone, it just draws me to it. And it’s based in London, my favorite city ever. So yeah, the label has a lot of pros, but the only con are their prices. I’m usually not the person to spend too much money on clothes, so I mostly just admire Lazy Oaf from afar.

But guys, the wait is now over. I officially own a piece of Lazy Oaf clothing and I’m loving it. I have to say, their store in London is freaking amazing. It’s situated in a small house in Soho and just screams cool. It’s colorful and freaky and weird. I loved it. I don’t know how long we actually stayed in there, but in like the last few minutes me and my mum found this supercool jumper and what can I say, it was love at first sight. And now it’s the moment I have to thank my mum, because as soon as I tried it on, I didn’t want to leave without it and I think she saw that in my eyes and decided to buy it for me. How nice is that? You’re the best, mum. So yeah, I now have this supercool, weird and unique jumper and I can’t wait to wear it. I would have never guessed that I would once own a Lazy Oaf piece, but now I do and I seriously couldn’t be happier.

The second piece of clothing I brought home from London is this amazing vintage blouse. I mean, look at it. I don’t even know what to say. I’ve been wearing it the past days and I just fall for it even more and more, day by day, minute by minute. I found it at this amazing vintage market we came across in Shoreditch. If any of you are into vintage clothing, I can guarantee that you would have loved this market. It was so cool. There were so many different blouses to choose from, I seriously could have bought every single one. But I’m really deeply in love with this one, I think it looks super unique and special. My first vintage piece.

Books

You guys know how much I love books and reading. So books were that part that I had planned to buy in London, as I only read books in English and were do I find more English books than in the UK (duh)? So I dragged my parents into Waterstones at Piccadilly Circus and I don’t know how long we stayed there, but I can tell you, it was pretty long. When I had finally worked my way through the young adult fiction section, I had twelve books resting in my arms. Did you ever have to choose your favorites from a huge collection of already favorites? It’s freaking hard. Not to be dramatic, but it’s nearly impossible. I was standing there, completely alone in the YA section, starring at a stack of books, debating which ones I wanted to keep and which ones I was willing to leave behind. That makes it official – I’m literally the biggest bookworm. But in the end I managed to pick my favorite favorites and here they are:

My Secret Rockstar Boyfriend – by Eleanor Wood
Sunflowers in February – by Phyllida Shrimpton
Truly Madly Awkward – by Beth Garrod
The Book of Loud – by Marshall
Finding Audrey – by Sophie Kinsella
Words in Deep Blue – by Cath Crowley

I’m seriously more than excited to read every single one of these books. If any of you have read any of them, please let me know what you think about them and whether you like them or not. I’ll of course add them to the book club and keep you up-to-date.

This and that

Okay, and here comes the last part – everything that doesn’t fit into clothing or books. And that brings me to one of my favorite moments of the trip – the moment we visited platform 9 3/4. My potter-heart is already going crazy thinking about it. Some of you may know that I’m overly in love with the whole Harry Potter / Hogwarts universe, ever since I grew up with the whole story. So visiting the platform at Kings Cross was a must for me.

But holy moly, I wasn’t the only one. I can’t remember if I’ve ever been into such a packed store, it was literally stuffed with customers. We even had to wait in a line outside. But at least for me it was totally worth it. I got to see all the different wands up close and there was the typical Hogwarts music playing in the background. I don’t know, apart from the people, it just felt like home. And I’m so happy with the stuff I got from there – a Hogwarts pin badge and a ticket for the Hogwarts Express. I know, some of you might say “isn’t she a bit too old for this?”, but all I can say is “silencio”. But all jokes aside, I really love this whole universe. I grew up with it, I pretty much know all the movies by heart and I read all the books. It’s a part of me. And I’m not afraid to show my love for it, no matter how old I am.

Besides that, the other stuff I got were just basic things like newspapers and magazines, but hey, they are from London, so I just had to take them home with me. Oh and I got this supercute “I love London” sign, which was the last sign missing in my collection on my wall and I’m so happy that I finally got to fill the empty spot.

And there you go guys, that’s my London haul. I can just say that I freaking love this city and everything I got and brought home with me. All the pieces mean a lot to me and I’m so proud to own them. But guys, I’m really excited to hear what you think about all the pieces, so please don’t hesitate to leave your thoughts down below. Oh, and I hope you’re all doing good and I wish you an amazing week. And, as always, thanks for reading. x

Ps: If some of you may have noticed, yes I indeed did color and cut my hair. It’s now shoulder-length and a rusty-reddish-brown color and I freaking love it. I used Henna again to color it and I’ve always wanted to cut my hair and I finally did it and I couldn’t be happier.

London

Hola everyone.

I’m baaaack. And oh my god, I have so much to tell you guys. First of all I hope you’re all doing good and that you had amazing holidays (if you did have them). Because I certainly did. God, guys, London is such a beautiful city. It’s like the city-version of the love of my life. I don’t even know where to start, so I’ll just get right back to the beginning.

Do you know that feeling when you visit another place that’s not your home but you just feel like you’re home, because it just feels so right? That’s what I feel like when I’m in London. Yes, of course, it can never really feel like home, because home is where my family is, the place where I grew up. But I know that people can have more than one home and I just feel like London is one of those for me. I just soak all of it up. I don’t even know how that’s even possible but I love every single thing about it. I mean, that could be because I always visit the beautiful places of London, but I even love the subway. And since when do people really love the underground? It might sound crazy, but I really love it, no joke. And that’s saying something.

But what I loved the most about the trip – besides the Fall Out Boy concert, which was freaking mind-blowing, by the way – was that my parents and I visited places in London I had never seen before. Our hotel was situated in Whitechapel, we explored Soho even more than the last time and went to a photography gallery, we went for an amazing breakfast in Bethnal Green (I had a vegan version of the typical fry up – the restaurant was called the Gallery Cafe and I highly recommend it to you, it was so awesome) and on the last day we came across a vintage market in Shoreditch and visited Notthing Hill. So many new experiences and places, I loved it.

But before I ramble on and on, I’ll just let the pictures I took do the talking. I hope you enjoy them. Oh and guys, please stay tuned for more postings about London, about the concert and the shopping I did. And yeah, as I already said, I hope you’re all doing good and wish you an amazing weekend. And also please don’t hesitate to leave your thoughts and comments down below. Oh and, as always, thanks for reading. x

Concert overload

Hola everyone.

Sorry for not posting anything yesterday. I had quite a busy day yesterday and then went to a concert in the evening. And I know what you’re thinking right now – do I ever spent my time by doing anything else than going to concerts? And my answer is: nope, not really.

But jokes aside, this week really has been the week of music. I went to a concert on Monday, to see Coasts and The Hunna, and yesterday to see Kraftklub, a super freaky, super cool band from Germany. And I have to say, both concerts were pretty damn amazing and on the other side completely different in size, style of music and overall feeling.

But for this post, let’s talk about pretty much the smallest concert I’ve ever been to – Coasts and The Hunna. Actually, the whole concert trip started of pretty badly as I completely mixed up the dates and already drove to Vienna on Sunday and then went to the venue just to see that the whole place was shut down and that the concert was actually scheduled for the next day. Yes, I was embarrassed. No, I don’t know how that happened or why I didn’t notice the date when I was packing the freaking tickets. And yes, my friend and I did laugh about it quite for some time. So, that was the start. It could have been better, let’s get that right. But hey, we made the best of it, went for dinner and had a nice, long chat. And the concert the next evening totally made up for it, as it was freaking amazing, seriously. I mean, the venue, The Flex in Vienna, is literally just a small club. There were like 200 people, at best. It was so so so small. At first I was even looking for another entrance, but that little stage was really the stage.

Anyways, the support act, Coasts, started right after we got in and I have to say, I really really enjoyed their set. I mean, I’ve now been listening to them for three or four years and I’m really happy that I finally got the chance to see them live. Which also surprises me a bit, as I would have never thought that bands like Coasts and The Hunna, which are pretty unknown here, would visit Vienna on their tour. But I’m really really really glad they did.

After Coasts The Hunna went on stage and from the first second on, I was sold. I mean, I looooove their music, seriously. It’s like what I love about music in a nutshell. It’s rock and punk and awesome drum beats and an amazing singing voice all in one. I love it. And I loved their show. I was screaming and singing my lungs, jumping around like crazy and just smiling throughout the whole show. It really was breathtaking. Both bands are amazing live and they really know how to entertain a crowd, even such a small one.

But apart from all that fantastic live music, my highlight of the night has to be when my friend and I were about to walk out and I just took all of my strength and braveness together and walked up to the lead singer of Coasts to chat. I don’t even know what got into me. I mean, I’m usually the shyest person ever, but there I was, walking up to this guy, ready to talk to him. And I have to say, it was so so so nice. God, he was so nice to me. No joke. When I got to him I quickly said that I loved their set and that I’ve been listening to them for over three years and he got all smiley and thanked me a hundred times and pulled me into a hug. Like, straight out of nowhere. How freaking cute is that? And then we chatted a little bit about their show and their upcoming tour and he said that they would come to Vienna again and I told him about my plan of moving to Brighton and he said that he loved that city and wished me good luck with my studies and that I should come to their show when they’re playing in Brighton and then stay a little bit and say hello, because he will for sure remember me. And then we exchanged names and he hugged me again. And then I went back to my friend, feeling so so so proud. I never thought that I would once be so brave to just walk up to a singer of a band I love, just to chat with him. Without nearly getting a heart attack. I’m really so so proud. And I’m really glad that I walked up to him. One of the best decisions ever.

So yeah, that was the story of the smallest concert I’ve ever visited and of how I overcame my shyness and talked to a super nice singer and band member. If any of you guys ever get the chance to see these bands live, please don’t waste it. They are really amazing and they deserve all the love and appreciation they can get. I would say that they are pretty underrated. So if you have time, do give them a listen, you won’t regret it, I swear. And apart from that I hope you enjoyed this little post and please stay tuned for Monday and part two of my concert week. And until then, please don’t hesitate to leave a comment down below. And, as always, I hope you’re all doing good, I wish you a nice weekend and thanks for reading. x

It’s happening

Hola everyone.

Guys, I don’t even know what to say. I have no idea how to articulate what I’m feeling right now, what’s going on in my head. So I’m just going to say it: yesterday, at about five o’clock, I got the offer from BIMM. I seriously got accepted at the university I have been dreaming about the past few months. I did it. Oh my god.

I can’t believe that this is really happening. I mean, it got so real all of a sudden. Of course I’ve always talked about moving to another country, dreamed about living in London, imagined how my life would be if I could turn my biggest loves into a career – music and loves. And now it’s all happening. This is so unbelievable. Before it was all talking and stuff, dreaming about unrealistic scenarios. I mean, I’ve always been a pretty optimistic person, but if anyone would have told me that this would ever happen to me, I would have laughed in their face and maybe take them to the doctors. And now it’s all becoming reality. I can’t even tell you how happy I am. I feel like the luckiest person on earth. They seriously chose me. ME. How the hell is this real life? How did I deserve all of this? Am I still dreaming? Because if I am, please don’t wake me up.

When I got the email yesterday I immediately started to cry. I couldn’t believe my eyes. There it was, the offer. The offer from the one university I wanted to study at so so so bad. I don’t think I’ve wanted anything career related as bad as this. And I have to say, I really worked my damn ass off for this. And now all this truly paid off. At least I know now why I studied so hard at school and tried to get the best grades. I guess I did it for this, something I didn’t even know I would need it for three years later. Being such a perfectionist isn’t as bad as I thought, I guess.

And now I’m sitting here, listening to the new The Wombats album – it’s freaking amazing, prepare for the full review guys – still not quite fully aware of the fact that I’ll be moving to the UK in September. Holy moly. I can’t even tell you how long I’ve been dreaming about being able to say this. No joke. And now it’s really happening. I’ll move to the UK, either Brighton or London – I still have to decide on that one, but I think it will end up being Brighton, as it’s a little bit cheaper than London – and then I’ll study music journalism at one of the coolest universities ever, one that brought us stars like George Ezra, Marina and The Diamonds, The Kooks and Tom Odell. And now I’m tearing up again.

I’m just really happy that everyone, all of my friends and my family, is supporting me in this decision. My mum is still kind of torn and I fully understand her. Because I am too. I have to stop myself from thinking about it too hard, because I can already feel the anxious and sad feelings creep up in me. Of course it’s hard for me too. Moving to a completely different country, all on my own, leaving everything I know behind. It’s basically the biggest step I’ve ever taken. But I know I can do it. And my little town in the middle of nowhere is still my home. Home is where the heart is. And my heart is wherever my loved ones are. And if you’re asking me, yes, it’s possible to have more than one home. And I can’t wait to call Britain my home.

So yeah, this is it guys. I guess this is all really happening. I still have to digest all of this in order to be able to realize it. Isn’t it crazy how the mind truly needs its time to process news like this one? And I think the moment I fully understand all of this will be one of the best and happiest ones in my whole life. My dream is seriously coming true. And it feels so good that I’m able to share all of this with you guys. Here’s to some exciting months and even more exciting and very english years. Also, I hope you’re all doing good and I wish you an amazing weekend. And thanks for reading. x